Ask a teenager about social media

At a Las Vegas social media conference in March of this year, one of the presenters’ entire workshop was based on how teenagers and 20-somethings use social media.

His title pretty much says it all: Ten public relations lessons a teenager could—but never would—teach you about social media.

It was an interesting premise because for those who have been in the business communication industry for a dozen years or more, they often feel like they’re behind the eight ball. Comments shared at the conference were focused on how to learn all the different tools and trends in addition to performing routine work for employers or clients; not to mention being effective at using the new tools.

The digital natives, or those who grew up with these social media tools, are certainly at an advantage over digital immigrants, those who are learning to use the tools at an older age. However, the wisdom of seasoned practitioners can’t be replaced by familiarity with new technology. This provides a great opportunity for teamwork across generations.

An interesting thought has stuck with me since presenter John Mimms of Altyris shared it at the conference. He basically said that the reality is that at some point in the future we’ll elect a president who has embarrassing photos posted on MySpace.

For those of us active in social media, this statement should provide us with a somber sense of reality. It is difficult to maintain privacy in our day and age. Care should be taken in what is posted online. Keeping in mind it’s being shared on the World Wide Web.

Additionally, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim to be one person in the flesh and an entirely different person online. Eventually, the lack of consistency and integrity will prove to be a challenge. Just ask anyone who has been denied a job after a prospective employer Googled them.